If only it were this easy...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Christmas Decorations

Dinning room decorated (sorry for the bad picture quality- camera phone)

 For the record I love Christmas. It's easily my favorite time of the year, I love the snow, the cold weather, ugly Christmas sweaters, Christmas music... I just love Christmas. But it never really feels like Christmas to me until I come home and my parent's house is decorated. The DG really missed her calling she would make an amazing interior designer. She usually puts up three trees, the main one in the family room, one in the basement and my favorite in the foyer.

Foyer tree. 

 However HT sister's cats, Fred and Barney or as the DG affectionately calls them "the boys" or "the herd" have been reeking havoc on the DG beautiful Christmas decorations.  This morning I caught Fred trying to climb. Yes like actually climb up our main Christmas tree. Yesterday he was playing with an ornament and then when I woke up I found another broken glass ornament in the foyer. Don't even get me started on the packing peanuts Barney found....

Family.

It's tradition on the DG side on the Saturday before Christmas the entire family (that includes the DG's 4 sisters plus kids, husbands and more recently kid's significant others) to go over to my Grandmother's house in Maryland and have "Grammy's Christmas". Now both of my parents have pretty large extended families, but the DG's is how would you say... more vocal? Maybe it's cause I am older and we (the cousins) are a lot bigger but Grammy's house isn't as large as I once thought it was. Add all the people, the small space and lots... and I mean lots of alcohol and you got a pretty interesting situation.

Not kidding about the alcohol part. Taking shots in the kitchen.

Actually it's more than an interesting situation...its the type of situation that makes reality tv shows. Anyways we go all out. We have a Chinese gift exchange for the adults, the cousins all draw names out of a hat and do a gift exchange, the sisters all exchange gifts, Grammy opens her presents and then finally one of the son-in-laws dress up as Santa and makes a surprise visit and passes out a gift for the younger kids.  It's a tradition that has been going on since me and my cousin R, the oldest out of all the grand kids have been babies. In fact this year we got a cd of all the videos the parents had collected over the years of the various events. After last year's Christmas on the ride home I was talking to the DG and suggested the idea of making t-shirts as a joke. The DG loved it and we planned to make tshirts and pass them out a full year before the event. Who does that? Well we do that's who. Bright red shirts with a giant picture of my Grandmother's mug blown up on the front and everybody's names on the back. Anyways when the DG and I broke them out at Grammy's she cried. She shed tears. I don't think she got it was a joke.

The mass chaos

Trying to get together and take a picture

Finally success. The Family.

Christmas Cookies

You know it's serious when I put on the apron

So with Christmas comes my favorite... Christmas cookies! Last year the Domestic Goddess was teaching full time and Hotty Toddy sister was still in high school so I was left with a mile long to do list which of course included baking. Now this year DG and HTS have retired/ came back from college so we all enjoyed a day of baking together.  We got a good variety this year, all different types of cookies but my favorite by far was the Peppermint Munchies. Now I must admit I am a sucker for anything peppermint (see peppermint mocha.)

 First you have to make the peppermint filling and then refrigerate it for 30 minutes while you make the actual cookie.

Then you put a little dab of the peppermint filling in the cookie and roll it into a little ball. Finally you take a glass, sugar coat the bottom and press it down.

Now ready for the oven

So in case your interested here is the recipe, now I would post a picture of the finished project but they didn't last very long.

Peppermint Munchies

3/4 cup butter softened

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

Peppermint Filling: combine one 3 ounce package softened cream cheese, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons finely crushed peppermint candies, and 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth 

1. Prepare peppermint filling, cover and chill for 30 mins

2. Preheat oven 375 F. In a bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 second. Add sugar and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping bowl.  Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in the remaining flour. 

3. Shape dough into 1 1/4- inch balls. Make an indentation in the center of each ball; place 1/2 teaspoon  of the peppermint filling in each indentation. Shape dough around filling to enclose; roll dough in hands until smooth. Dip the bottom of a glass in coarse sugar; flatten balls into 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until golden brown

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself; I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.

~Groucho Marx

Love.

Mike Price

One of my good friends at school I guess decided to start rapping. After reading an article on the job outlook for new grads in the Washington Post Business section today I am thinking this is a pretty smart move on his part. Anyways I am giving him a shout out today.

Mike Price & Marsh

 Check out Mike Price on facebook and "like" his page or if you are on twitter you can follow him at @mikepricemusic. He has released his first track which I honestly after listening I was pretty surprised how awesome it was.  I mean I always knew he was musically inclined but wow.  So here is his first track he released "Livin' like a Khaki Boy" Holiday Remix.

  Livin like a Khaki Boy (Wintery Mix) by Mike Price

Warning though it is pretty catchy and has been stuck in my head all week.  If you like it keep checking back he is working on his first EP  "Everyone's Got a Price" which should be out soon.

Hide yo Kids

 I confess, I am slightly obsessed with youTube. Now I hope everyone has seen this video above, with 23 million hits chances are you have  (if not well what are you waiting for I even embedded it for you). The video is simply youtube gold. Anyways now that everybody is familiar with the video I can show you this picture I "stumbleupon" today.  Certainly made my day.

"Hide yo kids hide yo wife they rapin' everybody in hur"

Stumble Upon.

Done!

Finals are over. Done. Adios. Now comes the waiting for professors to post final grades. I don't think there will be any surprises there is just one class I am on the board line for.  So happy to be home though. The drive was pretty miserable 8 and half hours alone through the middle of nowhere will pretty much make anybody crazy. But I made it home alive and that is all that matters. I love coming home for Christmas, the house is decorated and its just beautiful. I think that will be my next post, Christmas decoration.  Now the finals are over and I am home it finally feels like Christmas time.

Prepidemic

Found a new blog that I currently am obsessed with Prepidemic. Started by a couple of students at Princeton it leaves no stone unturned when it comes to men's wear. I don't know what it is but I have a strange fascination with men's wear. I am going to blame it on my first job ever working as a men's sales associate for Ralph Lauren. Anyway ladies though it doesn't really pertain to us you gotta check it out the pictures are awesome.

"I'm just a musical prostitute, my dear."

I am not sure what bought this all on but the other day I picked up my guitar for the first time in ages. I have an acoustic guitar I keep at the end of my bed.  I use to take lessons when I was back in middle school, not a lot of people know that.  I was never really good mostly because I never practiced I was always too busy doing other things. But I remember feeling like I was on cloud nine after I got done with a lesson. Playing for that hour was the most therapeutic, relaxing thing ever. Don't laugh. I am serious.  

Hotty Toddy Sister actually took this picture of me playing a while back

 Anyways this week I changed the rusted strings and started well more like attempting to teach myself some basic chords. Then I discovered lessons on youtube and I have been sucked back in. That feeling came back this week, that relaxing, therapeutic feeling you get when you just ignore the world and all you think about is the next note. All I want to do is master one song, one chords progression and move on to the next one its just been on my mind all this week. My poor roommates probably hate me practicing the same damn thing over and over. I try to play when nobody is home that way I can just flow. I have an electric guitar at home just your basic run of the mill Fender Strat but I am thinking about bringing it back down without the amp that way its quieter than my acoustic. O well back to studying I go. Till next time. O yea anybody know who said that quote that I made my title? Here is a clue,  guitarist for Queen.

Keep Calm and Carry On

It's the week before finals. Crunch time. Just finished up a research paper that is due tomorrow for one of my economics classes. It's strange, in that particular class in order to get an "A" in the class you have to write a paper but you can only write a paper if you have at least a B average on the exams. I think its frustrating if you ask me, even if you have an "A" exam average you still have to write the paper. So what is the incentive to do well on the exams during the year?  Okay getting off topic, anyways, research paper. Done. My first exam is going to be my hardest and might I add it's weighted the most out of all my finals, 40% of my final grade. Gulp.  So needless to say I need some serious study time and just my luck its scheduled for the first exam time.... Monday 8am.  Good news after that its pretty much all downhill from there, just one other final and a presentation.   I am just going to take the advice of our friends across the pond and keep calm and carry on.